Alice’s Restaurant. It’s now a Thanksgiving classic, and something of a tradition around here. Recorded in 1967, the 18+ minute counterculture song recounts Arlo Guthrie’s real encounter with the law, starting on Thanksgiving Day 1965. And it builds steadily into a satirical protest against the Vietnam War draft. We have featured Guthrie’s classic during past years. But, for this Thanksgiving, we give you the illustrated version. Happy Thanksgiving to all who will celebrate today.

Comments (1)

what?! no comments yet?! I’m sitting here listening to my copy of this song and I say there’s gotta be an animated version out there… and here it is… good job, dude.

I regularly whistle a few bars of this song when I wanna seem hip and edgy- plugged in to all manner of counterculture. too bad that this is not getting the traffic & eyeballs it deserves, cause the satire drives some important points home while the sentiment behind the song is just as relevant today. peace&love ppl need to find creative outlets to give expression to their disapproval of our penchant towards war&hate… this song reminds us that all we have to do is, in a concerted voice, say, “no, I don’t wanna be a part of the war&hate machine”…

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About Us

Open Culture editor Dan Colman scours the web for the best educational media. He finds the free courses and audio books you need, the language lessons & movies you want, and plenty of enlightenment in between.